Horror movies seek to frighten with images of things long dead coming back to haunt peoples lives.  As believers, we have no fear of spirits or ghosts attending our house but there is a way that the past can still reach out to hurt us - Regret. Regret is a funny word with serious consequences.  Regret comes from an old French word “regreter” which means “bewailing the dead.”   Today regret is sorrow over something we can’t change.  Something that is long dead reaches out to ensnare our emotions or our will.  In a way, regret stretches out its deathly fingers from the grave of the past to grip our life in the present. Whether the past holds the memory of our failures or sins or just lost opportunities that we think will never come again, regret must be kept in the grave.

We have all failed, as its part of being human, but godly sorrow results in joy and gratitude for the wonderful grace of God. Being merely sad about your past without repentance puts us in grave danger of regret and spiritual death.  Don't let regret haunt you or hold you back with shame but let Gods forgiveness and grace fill you with wonder and gladness.  Our Father can bring something clean out of an unclean thing and can bring a great future out of a past failure.  After Aaron the High Priests spectacular “golden calf” failure, he was a more empathetic mediator. Peter’s failure gave him the humility to care for a fledgling church.  The restored Corinthian’s were filled with acceptance and grace for a city churning with sinners.  Repentance is the guillotine that severs the skinny arm of regret and frees you into God's effective future.

But maybe what lies in the grave of your past is not sin but many years of thankless and difficult ministry that are forgotten by everyone but you and Jesus. Don’t let the fingers of regret lubricated with self-pity, slip around your neck. The eyes of Jesus sparkle with delight at the thought of His planned future with you.  His strong hand rests on your shoulder and He assures you "Your labour in the Lord is not in vain".  Billy Borden was an heir to dairy empire in the 1900's.  He was a millionaire before he left high school. On his first trip around the world, he wrote to his parents “I’m going to serve God” He could not be persuaded out of it and wrote, “No reserve” in his Bible. At Yale he had many converts, ending up with 1000 people in Bible studies. When he graduated, he turned down big jobs and wrote in his Bible “No retreat”. He then went to Egypt to learn Arabic so he could reach the Muslims.  While he was there he contracted meningitis and was dead in a month just 25 years old.  While the news headline that swept around the world was “What a waste!” Billy Borden had written in his Bible before he died, “No regrets!”

Friend whether you have wasted part of your life in sin or spent your life in sacrifice for the gospel, don’t let the clammy hands of regret get anywhere near your throat. Were not bewailing things that are dead and long gone but praising Him who is alive and still coming. “And his reward is with him” (Revelation 22.12).

In the movie “Chocolat,” set in a traditional catholic French village in which everything and everybody is under the mayors control, a lady “Chocolatier” arrives in town.  She opens a chocolate shop but the Mayor sets up a crusade against the evils of chocolate.  He tells the priest she is the enemy and instructs him to preach against her.  He was fighting to control his repressed but “perfect” town, but many of the town’s people actually find the chocolatier a friendly confident.   Finally one day the Mayor in desperation to rid his town of the evil, decides he will break into the shop and destroy the chocolate. In his mad flurry of destruction he accidentally tastes a small piece of chocolate. As soon as he tastes it, he falls into eating as much chocolate as he could. In the morning he was caught, embarrassed, humbled and changed!   The mayor was over his denial and self-righteous efforts to control and now free to explore a new exciting life.

   The turning point was the Mayors fall into temptation, where it seems that his failure became his salvation.  How often has the failure of someone worked a work of grace in a person’s life to such a degree, that their usefulness to man and God is taken to levels which could never have been possible before the fall. 

God plans for the failure of our self efforts as much as He plans for our success in Christ. God put Adam into the Garden knowing he would fail. Sometimes more is accomplished by our failure than our victory. Pride and self-confidence can be dealt with by God and failure often opens a person up the possibility of help from others. Failure worked in Peter life after his three denials, to rid him of his self-confidence and thrust him upon the Lord.

Friend, we all hate to fail, but our failures can give us a better perspective of our weakness and our dependence upon Him and that’s the greatest lesson.

Jesus walked along the crowded street on the way out of Jericho. One man called Bartimaeus had been sitting on the side of the road near the town for years. He was blind and begged for a living. He wanted to be healed and he cried out loudly to be heard above the rabble. Jesus heard the cry of faith and stopped to give him his sight back. Immediately upon receiving his sight he followed Jesus along the road. A new life and a new direction! All Jesus had to do for Bartimaeus, to deliver him from being stationary, broke and hopeless on the side of life’s road, was to give him vision. The greatest need we have is to see. When Jesus gives us spiritual sight, He enables us to see who He is and who we are.

The people of Israel stood at the border of the Promised Land and listened to the report of the 10 spies.  Although the land was exceedingly good, there were also giants there. The fearful spies saw themselves as grasshoppers in the face of the giants, and refused to go in (Numbers 13.28-31). It is not what you see in the promised land but what you see in side of you that will determine whether you enter in to all God has planned for you. If we view ourselves as grasshoppers it is unlikely we will defeat giants.  If you see ourselves as a chicken we will never soar as an eagle. A postman goes to deliver mail each day because he knows he is  a postman not a policeman.  If you know you are a son you act like one too. Most often we act beneath our dignity because we have forgotten who we are. A prince or princess with amnesia!

Jesus said He came down from above. He knew where He came from. When the Seed was placed in Mary, a son was born. When we were regenerated, the seed of the Word comes down from Father and like Jesus, your spirit man is born from above. We know ourselves after the flesh and off course identify with our natural father but the real eternal you, came down from your Father in heaven. We are literally new creatures and Father wants us to see ourselves as His own children. Although he calls us sheep, disciples, servants or even friends in the Gospel of John, his final description of us is sons.  After the resurrection Jesus calls us his brothers and like Jesus, all of Gods sons and daughters, are born from above by incorruptible seed.

Friend, our self-identity is formed by how we see Jesus and ourselves. As the 10 spies proved, how we see ourselves is critical because what we believe to be true is more powerful in our lives that the actual facts. Fact: You are truly, actually and absolutely Gods son or daughter. Do you see that?

This week it was pointed out to me by a close friend that I had made a theological error in one of my books. It was a bit embarrassing because my passion for preaching and writing is to understand, to help others understand!

If we learn any theology in Genesis, it is that imperfection and failure run in the family.  Even “perfect” specimens, who never seem to blow up, may be filled with anger, pride or judgmental pettiness.  The fact is that we all fail and, if we don’t give ourselves and others room to fail, we can breed dishonesty.  People fearful of disapproval can’t admit their mistakes and choose to live in denial. Brothers or sisters may be struggling with an issue which could be common to all people, but are afraid to ask for help. They could sink into a sea of despair believing that weakness is unforgivable.  It’s great to have a triumphalist theology where every believer lives in glory and power without error or mistake, but that doesn’t help people in their genuine times of struggle and need.

When Adam and Eve failed in the garden, it was no surprise to God, and He covered their failure with skins by the shedding of blood. God obviously allowed them to sin for a reason. After they sinned, He could do the thing he wanted most: to reveal Himself more fully to them, not just as Creator but as Savior, as Redeemer and Deliverer. Up until his failure, Adam had no idea of the depth and the beauty of God’s love for him.  He felt perfect without need of forgiveness. He also felt no gratitude nor understood God’s mercy. In short, he had no sense of God’s love.

Friend, the next time you feel you have failed, admit your humanity and embrace the mercy of your un-condemning Father, who you can now love with even greater gratitude!

Susan Boyle sang her song and her life was changed. “I dreamed a dream” became the song that unlocked her dream. The song we are singing determines our future. Our song is our prophecy to our selves. As Moses’ ministry was drawing to a close he reflects upon the wonderful God that had led him. Before he gives his last address and blessing to the people of Israel, he first sung his last song. “Then Moses spoke in the hearing of all the assembly of Israel the words of this song until they were ended" (Deut 31:30 )

It is the song in your heart to God that determines the message that we have to speak to men. Our song is our qualification and validation that we are heaven sent. Moses song was about Gods power and that Gods’ people are being led on purpose for a purpose. Without a song, leading people can be hard work. Without a song there can be death in our pot of doctrine and our disciplined lifestyle can become drudgery. Without a song discipling men and women becomes just a difficult duty. Moses and David had a new song in their mouth, and because of their song many trusted or gained greater confidence in the Lord. “He has put a new song in my mouth—Praise to our God; Many will see it and fear, And will trust in the LORD” (Psalms 40.3).
Friend, how is your song? God wants to put a new song in your heart. Ask for His new song today. It will strengthen you and those who are watching you. Make sure your “song” is prophesying the future that you are dreaming about.

The people of Israel slowly packed up their tents one more time to follow the moving cloud. To some it was a hassle to be moving again, to others it was exciting. A desert is a good metaphor for life. It is difficult sometimes and hard to negotiate. Sometimes its hard to see where to go or to orientate ourselves. It can be hard to make progress but there is always the hope a better day beyond the desert.

As they shuffled forward, everyone kept their eye on the Rock. In was their source of life in the desert and had come to represent the Lord Himself. Moses even called God “the Rock” and while it may seem strange, to call God a Rock, it made perfect sense to people who lived their whole life in a desert. In a desert, rocks are your best friend. It’s a hiding place from the harsh desert storms, be they sand or rain. The rock is a refuge from the floods; it is a rock that is higher that you. ( Psalms 61:2) The rock is a defense against your enemies. It is the best vantage point for vision if you can’t see where to go next. The rock is a shade from the burning heat of the midday sun and it was a welcoming place to rest. Earlier Moses himself had learned that the only way a man can meet with God and not die is to stand in the cleft rock, that God provides.( Exodus 33:22)
Eventually the ancient story tells us that the Rock brought them home to their inheritance. The Apostle Paul tells us Christ was that Rock in the desert and when Jesus came out of His rock tomb in resurrection life, he became the Rock of our salvation.
Friend, He is all we need in this desert – live by, stand on, hide in and depend on our Rock. He will bring you home.

Blind Bart sat on his mat on the side of the busy road out of Jericho. It was just another day, but when he heard the crowd and Jesus coming closer, he knew this was going to be a life changing day for him. He’d heard that lame people and even the blind had gone to Jesus and were healed. (Mat 21:14)
Bart wasn’t lame but he may as well have been; it had been years since he had walked anywhere. When you can’t see, you don’t walk very far, certainly not with confidence. He cried out for mercy over the noise of the merely curious and when Jesus heard the honest cry; he stopped, called Bartimaeus to Him and healed him. When blind Bartimaeus eyes were healed he immediately got up and walked after Jesus on the road.
When God raises followers, He touches the blind eyes of our hearts. God doesn’t start or finish with rules. God doesn’t try to change the way we act or walk, he just heals the eyes of our heart.
When Israel came out of Egypt, they had a change of religion but they never had change of heart. People cant walk differently unless they first see differently. Finally God said I’m going to show you Myself and when some of the Jewish people saw the heart of the Father displayed in the cross of Christ, their hearts were changed followed by their lifestyle. It is always the same. We change by revelation not rules. Our hearts are only changed by seeing the heart of God, in Christ. The way Father changes the way we walk and live, is enabling us to see more of Jesus.

Friend, if your sitting on your mat thinking no one notices you or that no one is listening, your wrong. Cry out in faith because I hear him coming closer to you right now.

What a feast! We enjoyed cakes, videos, hakas, speeches and prayer from all the generations in the congregation. Yesterday was amazing as the leaders of our local church sent us out to begin itinerant ministry. It was a beautiful day and we felt honoured and encouraged.

A number of years ago a man of God prophesied over us, that we were hidden in a quiver as sharp arrows, but there was a time when we would be released from the quiver.  That time has come.

But an arrow without a bow is powerless and pointless   It is the testimony, the credibility, the prayer backing and the corporate anointing of the local church, that gives flight to the arrow. Yesterday the bow was drawn back and released.

David said that God had enabled him to bend the bow of bronze. “He teaches my hands to make war, So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. You have also given me the shield of Your salvation; Your right hand has held me up, Your gentleness has made me great” (Psalms 18:32-35).

 David was saying his hands were a weapon and our hands are still the weapon of the church against the dark kingdom. By laying on of hands we cancel sickness, cast out devils and impart life into death and we still need the strong arms of local church leaders to bend the bow and release the arrows of the Lord.

 I'm incredulous when I hear a Christian say they don't need a local church. It's like saying we can be a Christian without going to Church. You can become one but you can’t live as one without the local church. That is like saying I can be rugby player without a team. It is delusional for the best rugby player is useless apart from the team, as is a knee joint without the rest of the body or an arrow without a bow.

I love the local church for it is the genius of God and the dwelling place of God. To believe you can worship the Trinity and reject relationships in a local church, misunderstands the nature and the heart of God. He only wants to dwell within a corporate gathering of His people. Only Jesus Christ is enough for God to live in alone. He otherwise needs a nation to dwell in the midst of.  He constructed from a thousand parts His one tabernacle.  He had a temple constructed out of many thousands of components into a glorious unified house for His habitation.  And so it continues that only the whole body of Christ manifested in local churches can contain Him.  It is your brothers and sisters that carry Him within. To get closer to God we need to get closer to the Church. Apostle John said that we love God  as much as we love His people.

I was converted the day I encountered Christ all alone in a pup tent while goat shooting in the hills of Hunua but from that moment God’s people prayed for me, helped me, encouraged me and visited me. His church discipled me, befriended me, fellow shipped with me, taught me and lead me.  They then believed in me, trained me, prophesied over me and released me into ministry.  Eventually they listened to me, honoured me followed me, supported me and my family and enabled me to my destiny. Yet all they were doing was being Christs mouth, heart and hands.

Friend, I love Jesus and I love the Church.

I’m so glad He invited me to sit at His table and to “feast” on Him but do I want Church with that?  Yes please!

In New Zealand we remember our brave soldiers who went to war in WW one and two. We remember those that fell in battle and those that come home. Every soldier paid a huge price to preserve our freedom from totalitarian and godless regimes. What a great time to remember the certain future for mankind unless Jesus our Saviour, also went to war against Satan and evil. Hell was created for the devil and those who refuse to escape it, and it is not pretty. "The whole extent of hell, the present suffering, the bitter recollection of the past, the hopeless prospect of the future, will never be thoroughly known except by those who go there."- J. C. Ryle.

Because we have never visited hell we don’t know how great a death we have been saved from.  But Paul said “Who delivered us from so great a death, and does deliver us; in whom we trust that He will still deliver us” ( 2 Corinthians 1:10) To deliver us from such great death, God provided a great, chain snapping, bondage breaking, and sin cleansing salvation.  The Bible calls it a great salvation.

“How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him” (Hebrews 2:3). In this great salvation, Jesus has saved us, delivered us from death and hell but that’s not all. We are saved from the devil, from shame, hopelessness, and fear.

 Yes!  We are saved from sins power, from the flesh, from bitterness and hatred but greater than the things He saved us from, are the things He saved us for. He saved us for a new life - He saved us for peace and for purpose. He saved us for heaven for His family and for the kingdom of God. He saved us for divine power and for works of ministry but mostly He saved us for Himself.   Jesus purchased us at a great price and He paid the same price for you as he paid for Billy Graham and the Queen. He died to save Englishman and Indians.  He saved tinkers, tailors, soldiers, and sailors; rich men, poor men, beggar men, and thieves.  It is a great salvation!

When Jewish Peter was on a roof wondering if God could love gentiles like us, he saw a sheet came down from heaven holding unclean animals. It was not a handkerchief and it was not a size that could fit inside his lounge. No, it spread out over the earth.  “He saw heaven opened and an object like a great sheet bound at the four corners, descending to him and let down to the earth. (Act 10:11)  Every unclean thing was inside this great sheet. God said, "What God has cleansed you must not call common." Act 10:11).

 Friend, He has cleansed you. You are not common or unclean. God gave Peter a great picture to say that no person is too unclean nor is their sin so great, that God cannot save them by His great Grace.